Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray Movie Review

Monkeys shine.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 29, 2014

1968’s science fiction succès d'estime may have been Stanley Kubrick’s immortal 2001: A Space Odyssey, but in terms of launching a franchise and a now decades long imprint on the cinematic universe, Planet of the Apes may have had the more lasting impact. Interestingly, both the Kubrick-Clarke collaboration and the Rod Serling penned Apes deal with evolution, though obviously in completely different ways (and, not to put too fine a point on it, with different species). If 2001 at least hinted at the chance for a brighter future for Mankind, Planet of the Apes posited a much more apocalyptic outcome for homo sapiens, with those vaunted “damn, dirty apes” getting the better end of any incipient Darwinism. The original Planet of the Apes gave birth to no fewer than four sequels, not to mention various other properties like some short-lived live action and animated television fare. While there was a law of diminishing returns fully in effect in the sequels, the fact that most of them continued to do relatively well at the box office is some indication of how compelling the public at large found the general premise of an ape ruled society to be. Tim Burton revisited Planet of the Apes in 2001, failing to really capitalize on the potential of the already well established concept, and thereby also scuttling any plans for a new franchise. Though initially not that hotly anticipated, 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes turned out to have perhaps surprising success with both critics and audiences, offering a reboot which in some ways resembled Conquest of the Planet of the Apes more than the 1968 original. Perhaps just as surprising as the acclaim afforded Rise of the Planet of the Apes was the even more rapturous response that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes received upon its release, though some curmudgeons may still be prone to fits of eye rolling over predictable plot progressions and some risible dialogue. The film’s technical achievements, however, are inarguably fantastic, with state of the art motion capture, CGI and practical effects that palpably create a world where apes are involved in an epic struggle for survival with their former masters, good old humankind.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes recaps its progenitor’s plot points in a “news montage” of sorts that rather humorously inserts real life authority figures like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Obama into the mix, as a variety of “reporters” describe the havoc wreaked by the ALZ-113 virus. The film actually spends a large portion of its first act focusing solely on the ape population, to the point that even ape leader Caesar (Andy Serkis, via motion capture) and his friend Maurice (Karin Konoval) wonder if there are actually any humans left alive after the lapse of a decade since the virus hit and at least two years with no sightings of men. That question is answered when a human interloper suddenly appears in the Muir Woods one day and, shaken and obviously terrified by the sight of two (younger) apes, shoots one of them, luckily not fatally, but arousing the ire of the apes nonetheless.

That man, an engineer named Carver (Kirk Acevedo) is part of an advance party led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), who is attempting to get to a nearby dam to restore it to operating condition so that power can be funneled to a ragtag group of survivors holed up in nearby San Francisco. The initial interchange between Caesar and Malcolm doesn’t go especially well, considering the fact that there’s a wounded ape youth lying on the ground spilling blood from a gunshot, and for a moment it seems the two species will retreat to their respective corners. But back in San Francisco, Malcolm’s leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman, in what amounts more or less to a glorified cameo) is desperate to provide power to the human survivors. Malcolm decides he can appeal to the apes’ common sense, though he is unaware that Koba (Toby Kebbell), still nursing trauma over a lifetime of captivity and experimentation at the hands of scientists, wants Caesar to stand up and fight.

Interestingly, while Carver is set up as the bad seed of the humans, it’s actually an ape acolyte who ends up creating most of the conflict in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The film has already perhaps been a bit too obvious in contrasting father and son relationships between human and ape characters, but here the film plays things rather more smartly, ultimately offering a surprisingly nuanced and well developed arc that sees the initial bonding of Malcolm and Caesar (and their families) torn asunder by various machinations.

While the technical achievement of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes can’t be overstated, what actually makes the film work perhaps even more than the spectacle is the human—and of course, ape—interest stories. While the character of Malcolm is a little generic (as, frankly, is Carver), there’s enough tangential interest in Malcolm’s family life, which includes wife Ellie (Keri Russell) and artist son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee), who ends up developing a touching friendship with Maurice, to keep things from feeling too rote. The interplay between Caesar and Koba is especially visceral on the simian side of things, and the frightening “evolution” of the apes taking control of more lethal weapons is especially well developed.

If Dawn of the Planet of the Apes perhaps tries just a little too hard to set things up for what is an already announced third chapter, it’s a forgivable effort simply because this chapter is so largely involving and intelligently scripted. Despite a few missteps, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes smartly reinvigorates the franchise, probably even more so than Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Hopefully this “new, improved” set of ape adventures can avoid that law of diminishing returns that tended to plague the original series. Technology has finally caught up with the concept of Planet of the Apes, but the even better news is this is one science fiction spectacular that doesn’t rely solely on wondrous state of the art special effects to achieve its impact.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The "star" of this visual presentation is no doubt the stunning rendering of the various classes of simians, something that is done with astounding, even jaw dropping, realism, with truly exceptional fine detail in elements like the bristly fur of the apes. A lot of the film plays out in almost Pacific Northwest dreariness, with dank, gray skies and at times fairly incessant rainfall, something that does tend to tamp down any immediacy in the palette. Instead, there is a glut of dark greens and browns that may not offer much in the way of traditional "pop," but which add a kind of gritty realism to the proceedings. Some of the more relatively well lit scenes, including several in the remnants of San Francisco, do offer an at least relatively more vivid palette. This digitally shot feature also offers overall clarity and precision not only in close-ups, but midrange shots, where aggregations of apes and humans offer a surprising amount of detail even in large groupings. Despite the general darkness of the feature, something that at least incrementally affects levels of detail at times, there are no issues with noise or other artifacts.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes features a very forceful but nuanced DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix that offers a glut of thundering LFE from virtually the first moment, as well as excellently placed sound effects which recreate everything from the kind of rain forest ambience of Muir Woods to a ferocious fire that engulfs a camp late in the film. Dialogue is very cleanly presented and is nicely directional. The film offers forced subtitles for the apes' "sign language". Michael Giacchino's enjoyable score is spread nicely through the surrounds and offers compelling support for several key sequences. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is extremely wide on this problem free track.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Matt Reeves (1080p; 4:34)


• Journey to Dawn (1080p; 8:47) focuses on the building of the new franchise, and includes some decent interviews with the likes of Andy Serkis.


• Andy Serkis: Rediscovering Caesar (1080p; 9:02) focuses on Serkis and the motion capture technology utilized to create Caesar and the other apes.


• Humans and Apes: The Cast of Dawn (1080p; 17:47) is more of a rote EPK, with a review of the plot and how various characters fit in.


• The World of Dawn (1080p; 14:31) looks at some of the production design and location creation, both real and CGI.


• The Ape Community (1080p; 10:26) centers on the society of the apes, their interactions and some of the supporting simians.


• Move Like an Ape: An Artist's Medium (1080p; 15:25) is one of the more interesting supplements, looking at both the motion capture aspect as well as rendering the apes.


• Weta and Dawn (1080p; 20:27) profiles the now iconic visual effects house and its work on the film.


• The Fight for a New Dawn (1080p; 16:00) looks at some of the fight choreography and the rehearsal process.


• Audio Commentary by Matt Reeves. Reeves is obviously very enthused about the project, and offers a lot of interesting information in both the anecdotal and technical arenas. It's especially interesting to hear about the rigors of the motion capture elements and compositing the rendered versions with live action.


• Gallery includes:

  Concept Art (1080p; 2:10)

  Characters (1080p; 2:40)

  Costumes (1080p; 1:05)

  Props (1080p; 00:50)

• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 6:17)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes manages to be both epic and intimate, and it very smartly plays with Apes canon in some inventive ways. Andy Serkis' motion capture performance is nothing less than amazing, and in fact overpowers some of the "real" humans on screen. But as daunting as this film's technical achievements inarguably are, it's the actual storytelling that makes Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a morning worth experiencing. Technical merits are first rate, the supplementary package is excellent, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes comes Highly recommended.